A Hamilton County jury today acquitted a Dayton, Tenn., man of vehicular homicide by intoxication.

Bachar Martin, 27, was a passenger in a sport utility vehicle that caused a man’s death, but prosecutors said he was criminally responsible because he owned the vehicle and allowed a friend to drive it while intoxicated.

The jury was unable to decide on a DUI by consent charge, and Mr. Martin today pleaded guilty to that charge, a misdemeanor.

He could get up to 11 months behind bars and will be sentenced July 7.

Mr. Martin had testified in his own defense Wednesday, telling jurors he had no idea that his “former best friend” Jeremiah Mann was in no condition to drive home to Dayton, Tenn., after a day of drinking in Chattanooga.

Mr. Mann, also 27, pleaded guilty to driving the Lincoln Navigator that struck another car and killed Dwight Brooks in 2004.

See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for full coverage.